Next-generation sequencing of complete genomes has given researchers unprecedented levels of information to study the multifaceted evolutionary changes that have shaped elite plant germplasm. In conjunction with population genetic analytical techniques and detailed online databases, we can more accurately capture the effects of domestication on entire biological pathways of agronomic importance...

Introduction The biosynthetic reactions of starch synthesis There is strong evidence to indicate that the ADPglucose (ADPGlc) pathway, consisting of the enzymatic reactions catalysed respectively by ADPGlc synthetase (or ADPGlc pyrophosphorylase, EC 2.7.7.27; reaction l), starch synthase (EC 2.4.1.21; reaction 2) and branching enzyme (EC 2.4.1.18; reaction 3), is the predominant if not the sole...

This review covers starch synthesis in the maize endosperm. Starch comprises one of the major glucose polymers in many living organisms. It is critical for plant life since it provides a mechanism to store the vast amounts of fixed carbon arising from photosynthesis. As the major component of many seeds, starch provides the important source of energy transferred from parent to progeny. Animal l...

Allium cepa, Guard Cell Protoplasts, Malate, Vicia faba Isolated and purified guard cell protoplasts of starch-containing ( Vicia faba) and starch-lacking (Allium cepa) stomata were used to study the metabolism of malate and Clanions as correlated with the K +-induced swelling of protoplasts. The correlation between swelling and malate synthesis in starch-containing and the inhibition of this c...

Electron photomicrographs of endosperm tissue from germinating seed of Ricinus communis L. cv. Hale show proplastids which contain prominent starch grains. The content of starch in endosperm tissue increased from 500 micrograms per seed, in imbibed seed, to 1,100 micrograms per seed in 5-day-old seedlings. The maximum net rate of starch deposition was 1.1 nanomoles glucose incorporated per minu...

We investigated whether starch degradation occurs at the same time as starch synthesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaves in the light. Starch accumulated in a linear fashion for about 12 h after dawn, then accumulation slowed and content plateaued. Following decreases in light intensity, the rate of accumulation of starch declined in proportion to the decline in photosynthesis if the...

Starch composition and the amount in endosperm, both of which contribute dramatically to seed yield, cooking quality, and taste in cereals, are determined by a series of complex biochemical reactions. However, the mechanism regulating starch biosynthesis in cereal seeds is not well understood. This study showed that OsbZIP58, a bZIP transcription factor, is a key transcriptional regulator contr...

Althougll starch poses a problem in the factory by retarding filtration and crystallization rates of cane juices (Balch, 1953; Feulherade, ~gzg) , little attention has been given the mechanisms of starch formation in sugarcane. Of further importance is the knowledge that both glucose-I-phosphate* and uridine diphospl~oglucose, themselves major precursors of sucrose, are also involved in starch ...

The endosperm at the storage phase undergoes a series of coordinated cellular and metabolic events, including starchy endosperm cell death, starch synthesis, and starch granule packaging, which leads to efficient accumulation of starch. However, the mechanism underlying the interconnections remains unknown. We used integrated proteomic and cytological approaches to probe the interconnections in...

Rates of photosynthesis, sucrose synthesis, starch accumulation and degradation were measured in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants under a square-wave light regime and under a sinusoidal regime that simulated the natural daylight period. Photosynthesis rate increased in a measured manner in direct proportion to the increasing light level. In contrast to this ...